The present invention relates to a bundle gripper for a palletizer or palletizing machine. The bundle gripper may pick up respectively at least one bundle of printed or non-printed products from a feeding device and deposit the bundle on a pallet. The bundle gripper includes at least one gripper finger positioned on a frame, which can be moved between a first and a second position. The gripper finger is located at least partially behind an end stop in the first position. In the second position, the gripper finger is located in front of the end stop in a horizontal operating state so that the at least one bundle rests on the gripper finger. The bundle gripper is in a retracted position in the first position, whereas the bundle gripper is in an operating state in the second position. The bundle gripper further includes a hold-down clamp for clamping the bundle positioned on the gripper finger. The hold-down clamp rests against the end stop. The distance between the end stop and a front end of the gripper finger in the second position can be changed for adapting the gripper finger to different bundle lengths. The invention also relates to a method for palletizing bundles of printed or non-printed products with the aid of a palletizing machine.
European patent document EP-A-1 801 047 discloses a bundle gripper, which is used to pick up respectively two side-by-side arranged stacks from a feeding device and deposit these stacks on a pallet. Each stack is gripped with two side-by-side arranged gripper fingers or support elements and an above-arranged hold-down clamp. In addition, the gripper fingers can be adjusted by releasing a lever, so that the distance between the end stop and the front end of the gripper fingers in a working position can be changed. For adapting the bundle gripper to different formats, the two gripper fingers upon which the bundles can be placed can be adjusted relative to each other, thereby permitting an adaptation to different stack widths. To deposit the stack on a pallet, the two gripper fingers are pulled back behind an end stop which exposes the stack bottom and causes the stack to drop onto the pallet. Two pairs of gripper fingers are furthermore provided to allow the simultaneous palletizing of two stacks, wherein the spacing between the two stacks can be adjusted.
A different stack gripper is known from European patent document EP-A-0 816 272. This document discloses a stack space open toward the bottom and includes a separate guide for each of the four sides of the bundle stack. Two telescopically extendable belts are located in the lower region of the stack space. The product stacks are moved into the stack space while positioned transverse on the extendable belts. Following the insertion of the bundle stack, the guides are adjusted to simultaneously surround and touch the bundle stack. The bundle stack is then deposited on a pallet by shortening the belts with the aid of a lifting movement.